AND walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brethren, Simon who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishers. And He saith unto them, Come ye after Me, and I will make you fishers of men." Matt. 4:18, 19.
Jesus takes men where He finds them. More than that, He seeks for them where they are, at their daily tasks, in the assembly, in their homes, as they wander. Trained or untrained, polished or uncouth, rich or poor, He seeks them out and extends to them the invitation, "Come, follow Me."
So the call came to those humble fisherfolk. Not yet did He say, "Go work in My vineyard;" not yet did He say, "Go ye into all the world;" but simply, "Come ye after Me." They knew their own trade. To them the work of fishing was familiar in all its details; the dangers and the profits of the deep were to them well known; the weary waiting, the toil and disappointment, they had experienced. Jesus recognized them as strong men; He knew them as successful men, for they were masters of boats. He could use them in a greater work, and therefore the call, "Come ye after Me."
Just to follow Him. That was their first duty. They could not tell of His mission on earth, for they did not know it. They could not bring healing to the sick, for they as yet knew not the Source of life. They could but follow. In simply following they were obedient. But before them was the promise, "I will make you fishers of men."
The call and the promise came to them in terms they well understood. What wonder that "they straightway left the nets, and followed Him"? They heard and recognized the voice of the Master, the One who would take their training of toil and adapt it to the greater work of winning souls. In their hearts they longed for the greater work, and here was the opportunity; the call appealed to them in a way that impelled, and dropping the work that till then had seemed so all-important, they took up the greater work of the Master.
To-day the call to the toilers who go down in ships is the same, "Come, . . . and I will make you fishers of men." To the man who delves for the precious things of earth He declares, "There is treasure to be desired, . . . righteousness and mercy." To one who seeks to be great in this world, there is but one duty, "Sell that thou hast, . . . and come, follow Me." Not one is forgotten, not one is slighted. Not one is asked to do more than he can do. "Come, follow Me," He says. When we have learned the present lesson, He will send us forth; but just now the duty of the wanderer from Christ is to follow Him. With Him rests the responsibility, "I will make you fishers of men."